People encouraged to ‘walk’ a book to promote Taipei fair

Staff writer, with CNA

Fri, Jan 18, 2013 - Page 5

The Taipei Book Fair Foundation said that it is hoping to attract 10,000 people to “walk” their books at an event in Taipei on Jan. 30 to promote an upcoming international book fair.

Visitors to the Taipei International Book Exhibition, one of Asia’s largest book fairs, are encouraged to bring one of their books to the event and present it in a creative way, such as turning it into headwear or a handbag, the foundation, which organizes the fair, said on Tuesday.

The first 10,000 participants to sign up will receive free tickets to the exhibition, which will run from Jan. 30 to Feb. 4, it said.

The event will be held at the Taipei 101 Square.

The “book-walk” concept was inspired by Canadian author and artist Keri Smith’s book Wreck This Journal, which encourages readers to think outside the box, the foundation said, expressing hope that the event will promote creativity and stimulate readers’ imaginations about their relationships with books.

Readers can take pictures or make videos of their creative ideas and upload them to the event’s Facebook page. The 10 participants receiving the most Facebook “likes” will each win a free buffet at a local hotel.

The foundation said it will also set up donation boxes at the exhibition for the public to donate books for distribution to schoolchildren and residents of remote areas.

The exhibition, now in its 21st year, will feature Belgium as its theme country, as well as hosting booths and pavilions from countries including France, Australia, Turkey, Mexico and Peru.

It will also include a variety of seminars and workshops on topics such as international publishing, digital reading and the development of digital content applications to improve exchanges in the global publishing sector.

This year’s fair has received over 800 registrations by publishers, and 500 writers from home and abroad are expected to attend. It attracted a record number of 600,000 visitors last year.